Fallen Angel
by GoodGurl
Summary: The third installation of the Jiro Saga... fifteen years after Jiro was supposedly, 'destroyed.' To those who have read the previous stories MUST read this! Continuation of Tomoyo and Eriol's dramatic adventure! WARNING: may contain violence in later chap
1. Fallen Angel

Note: Quite not sure whether I should name the trilogy Fallen Angel, but it's the best I can do! So anyways, here it is!   
  
Summary: Life continues on for both Tomoyo and Eriol in England after that whole battle with Jiro/Kei. Now, fifteen years later, Eriol's magic is slowly fading away and has been transferred to their ten year old daughter, Akina. However, someone plans to destroy the happiness in the new family and that someone has been waiting for the right moment.... to kill all of them. Who is this someone out to kill the family? Could it be...HIM? Read and find out! Yikes! Warning: STILL Eriol and Tomoyo coupling! STILL Nakuru and Yue coupling! ALSO S+S, but not much. ^^; Rated PG-13 for romance/suspense//and some violence.  
  
  
  
Fallen Angel  
  
  
  
Blood.   
  
It was everywhere.  
  
It consumed him. It ate his hands. It boiled through his veins.  
  
Why did he feel this way? Why was he so consumed with hate towards...  
  
He looked up and saw 'her,' passing the soccer ball at one of her teammates. Cold wind blew against his auburn hair, forcing him to stuff his hands into his pockets and continued to watch. She was young, about ten years old and he didn't know her. So...why did he make an effort to walk twenty minutes to this school? He frowned. All this was making him feel uncomfortable, but he couldn't help it. He felt this way.   
  
He felt the hate...   
  
The anger.   
  
Everything his mother taught him that were sinful.  
  
Her short dark hair, which were tied up into a ponytail bounced behind her as she ran, kicking the ball in front of her. She made a sharp turn in order to avoid her opponent and easily kept the ball with her. The young girl ran and ran, effortlessly making her way towards the goal and with one, quick, yet difficult gesture, she risked taking a shot at the goal. It was heavily guarded, but she continued to kick anyway, kicking it as hard as she could. The young boy could hear the ball smack against the side of her foot and, like a speed of light, it went pass the unsuspecting goal tender, who tried her best to block with her rather, short arms.   
  
The referee blew his whistle, marking the shot as a goal and indicating the end of the game. The girl who made the shot jumped up and down excitedly, joining her teammates in a fit of hugs. The game ended with Lansbury gaining five more points from their original score, which made it 12-10 against Surrey. The girl was later joined by a cute young boy her age with soft, brown hair and emerald green eyes. He said something to her, grabbed the ball from her hands and began to kick it around with his feet and bounced it around on his thighs, trying to show off to the girl. However, the girl was not impressed, instead, she ran to him and kicked the ball way. The boy was surprised at that, so he didn't have time to avoid her check. The girl was surprised too that he didn't make an effort to keep the ball away from her, so the ball went bouncing around and flew behind the girl, almost at the feet of a young man standing by a tree.   
  
"Look what you did!" the girl said, annoyed.  
  
The boy just stuck out his tongue and pointed towards the ball. "Go get it!"  
  
Akina stomped her foot angrily. "Uggh!" Giving up, she walked over to where the ball had landed, unaware that the young man was even there. When she looked up (since she was too focused on the ball), she gasped at his sight, then calmed herself down. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were there!"  
  
The young boy, about fifteen, shook his head, keeping a straight face towards the girl. "It's all right," he spoke quietly. He bend down and picked up the ball, then passed the ball to the girl, not with his hands, but with his feet. Akina was speechless. The way he passed it to her, marked a very good player. The dark haired girl examined him closely. Indeed, he looked to be around fifteen and was quite handsome. From what she could see from his eyes and skin color, he looked to be half caucasian and half...asian? "Is there something I could help you with?"  
  
The young girl shook her thoughts away. "Oh nothing!" she said, smiling. "Are you a football player?"  
  
The boy shrugged. "Well, sort of."  
  
Akina lifted a curious eyebrow at him. "Sort of? What do you mean by that?"  
  
Once again, he shrugged, but said nothing. Without warning to the girl, the young boy turned and began to walk away. The girl watched him go. She wanted to ask him some more questions about his football abilities and wanted to know why he was watching the game the whole time without congratulating the team their win? Before Akina could ask further about the young stranger, she heard her best friend, Cedrik call her name.  
  
"Hey, Akina! What do you think you're doing standing there for no reason? Come on, your mom is here to pick us up!"   
  
Akina turned swiftly and looked at the young boy waving at her impatiently. She nodded. "Okay!" She quickly glanced behind her to see if the boy was still there, but he wasn't, so she ran to her best friend's side and joined his walk to parking lot, where her mother was waiting for them.   
  
  
  
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"How was the game, anata?" she asked her daughter as they drove out of the parking lot.  
  
The young girl smiled, glancing at her best friend sitting beside her, then back at her mother. Since she couldn't see her face when she talked, Akina talked to her mother through the rearview mirror. "It was great! We get to play in the regional championships!" She heard a 'humph!' beside her. Akina turned her head towards Cedrik, who had his arms folded across his chest. "What?"  
  
Cedrik shrugged. "Nothing." Smirking, he turned his head out the window, but Akina wasn't about to let him go that easily! The dark haired girl stretched her arms long and looped one of them around his neck, while her free hand went on top of his head. She began to give him the 'noogie,' rubbing her knuckle on top of his head to annoy him. Cedrik yelped, surprised by the assault. He tried freeing himself from her, but to no avail. Being the shortest football player in her team, Akina was VERY strong. "UGGH! Hey stop that!"  
  
"You better tell me what you were smirking about or I WON'T stop!" Akina laughed loud, watching Cedrik squirm underneath her grasp.  
  
The young boy sighed. "All right! All right! I wasn't smirking per say... OUCH!" He stopped in mid-sentence when Akina rubbed harder. "OKAY! I WAS smirking, but it wasn't a mock, smirk. It was more like.. 'I can't believe that a team who has never won anything in their lives made it to the regional championships' smirk! Satisfied!?"  
  
Akina nodded and released him. "Much better!"  
  
Cedrik rubbed the top of his head and his neck, then looked up at his best friend, frowning. "Geez, did you have to grip THAT hard around my neck?"  
  
The girl grinned innocently. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Sure you are," Cedrik mumbled. Then, remembering the older boy Akina was talking to earlier, he turned back to her and asked, "Who was that kid you were talking to at the field?"  
  
The young girl shrugged, glancing towards the field where he met the young man. To her surprise, he was still there, his eyes watching the van pull away from the parking lot. "I have no idea who that guy is." Akina shuddered. "He creeps me out." She continued to stare at him, but she could only see his figure disappearing behind the bushes that formed in front of her as the van completely left the scene of the soccer field.   
  
A few minutes later, all Akina could see was a large stretch of highway, overlooking more roads above and below them. She was suddenly getting bored of watching cars go by, while the kids in the back seat stuck out their tongue at her teasingly. The young dark haired soccer player glanced at her seat mate beside her and smirked. He was also getting bored, resting his chin agains his upward palm that was planted on his lap. Cedrik must have noticed her watching him as he turned quickly to look at her. "What?" he asked in his thick, english accent.   
  
Akina shrugged. "Nothing," she replied, also with her thick english accent. Her parents were, full bloodied, Japanese, but her father had lived in England for a while, so his accent as a Japanese faded, replacing it with the british accent. Her mother spoke really english, because back in Japan, she studied really hard in her english class to get where she was today. However, her mother still spoke some words in Japanese because- as her father said, Tomoyo Hiragizawa was proud being Japanese.  
  
Before the girl had a chance to say something to keep both of them entertained, however, they already made it back to the Hiragizawa mansion, which resided at the top of Hillcrest Hallow. The gates of the large mansion automatically opened, revealing the large mansion at the top of a huge front yard with a beautiful fountain situated firmly at the very middle where everyone inside the house from every room could see its clear, blue water. The fountain was made mostly in ceramic, with little cherubs all gathered around a large pot of water that was the center piece and the main water source of the fountain. The two car garage, that was once a small storage room, was planted almost behind the house, but enough so the drivers of the cars could see it. Tomoyo parked the van just beside their black mercedes benz- a present from Tomoyo's mother from America when she went for a business trip there and turned off the engine. She glanced over her shoulder at Cedrik, who was quite busy looking through his backpack to see if anything was missing.  
  
"Cedrik?" Tomoyo called.  
  
Cedrik looked up at the sound of Akina's mother's voice and smiled. "Yes, Mrs. Hiragizawa?"  
  
"Your parents called me this afternoon and told me they were going to be away for an adult's party and won't be back until midnight. So that means you can have dinner with us tonight if you'd like." Tomoyo smiled at the surprised look of the young boy, but she knew that deep down, ten year old, Cedrik Crawford, the son of the Governor of England, was disappointed at this news.   
  
Slowly, Cedrik nodded. Tomoyo might have missed the way his eyes brimmed with tears, but Akina, his best friend for seven years, did not miss a thing. She gave him a silent, reassuring smile, when he turned to look at her and that made the young boy even better.   
  
  
  
Suddenly, the door to Akina's side opened, startling her. The young girl turned and smiled at the sight of her father, grinning. "Are you all getting out of the car or are you all going to sleep in here tonight?"  
  
Akina laughed, unfastening her seatbelt, then jumped into her father's arms. "Daddy! I thought you weren't going to be home until very late tonight?"  
  
Eriol hugged his daughter back, then put her down on the ground, petting her on the head for comfort. "I would NEVER miss my daughter's birthday!"  
  
The dark haired girl thought for a moment, then nodded. "Oh yeah, it is my birthday right?" She smiled, which made Eriol smile even more. Akina's smile was like her mother's- gentle and very beautiful. He looked up at the sound of another door clicking open and immediately, he embraced his wife happily. Tomoyo hugged him back lovingly and lifted up her face towards him to give him a long kiss on the lips. Cedrik turned away, blushing, while Akina pouted.  
  
"Hello! We have a visitor here!" Akina protested, frowning now and folding her arms across her chest. She noticed Cedrik blushing and she couldn't help but giggle in delight.   
  
The couple immediately let go. Eriol grinned, looking at Cedrik as well. "Oh, come on now, Cedrik doesn't mind. I'm sure he's seen his parents kiss like us a couple of times, right, Cedrik?"  
  
Cedrik nodded quietly, getting out of the van from his side and placed his back pack on his shoulders. Akina sighed, then walked over to where Cedrik was. "Yeah, but look at him blush!" she said outloud, accusing him of something so small and yet very important to her. Cedrik glared at her, but it did not help his blush disappear from his face. He became redder even more.   
  
  
  
  
  
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"Where have you been?" she spoke, frowning. She folded her arms across her chest and watched with firm eyes as he made his way across the hallway and towards his room. "Hold on a second, young man!" she said.  
  
Fifteen year old, Jesse Converse stopped in his tracks after hearing his mother's tone of voice and turned around to face her. "What?"  
  
"I asked you a question!" Victoria walked over to him and gave him that motherly-glare into his eyes. "Where have you been?" she repeated.  
  
Jesse shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Nowhere..." he replied, simply. With that said, without even giving his mother a second chance to speak, Jesse went inside his room and shut the door behind him. He sat down silently on his bed and sighed. He didn't know what led for him to go all the way to that school just to see a girl he did not recognize. But for some reason, she had the same resemblance as another girl he knew he hadn't met either.   
  
It's time to start ur work a voice spoke in his head.  
  
"What if I don't want to?" he replied to no one in particular.   
  
You can't escape this work, Jesse. I own you...no... I AM you! There is no changing who you are.  
  
"Then who am I?" he said a bit louder this time, but still quiet enough so his mother couldn't hear.   
  
Why don't you ask Hiragizawa?  
  
"Who is that?"  
  
Just listen to me... Just follow my instructions.  
  
Sighing, Jesse nodded and removed all his thoughts, except for the one voice inside his head. He didn't know this voice, but he obeyed anyway. No matter how scared he was, or worried that he would have to do something drastic, temptation was driving him to do the things his mother would have found sinful. It was the temptation to find out WHO he really was and WHY this voice was speaking to him.  
  
"I could just be crazy," he said to himself.   
  
But no... the voice inside his head would not let him think that. The voice, though male and would rather be considered, a 'he' spoke to him reassuringly that indeed he was real in his mind and that he was not crazy.   
  
That just made Jesse even more assured.  
  
  
  
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Dinner was very good, as Cedrik had put it when asked what he thought of the very formal dinner he rarely had at his own house because his parents were too busy for him. Akina liked it the same. She loved her mother's and Nakuru's cooking, adding to that, her father's as well, who cooked the french cuisine, fillet minion. She listened to every conversation exchanged between Nakuru, her father and her mother, while at the same time, enjoyed watching Cedrik trying to listen and understand their conversation, most of which, were spoken in Japanese. She laughed at the thought as the table was cleared by everyone present on the table. Poor Cedrik wanted to help, but didn't know exactly where to put the dishes and all the utensils, so her mother just told him to sit back down on his chair and wait for dessert. Akina remembered that Cedrik hasn't been inside their house for almost two years now and due to the drastic changes in their kitchen, the girl understood her best friend's confusion.   
  
When Akina returned minutes later to the dining room, Cedrik was sitting patiently on his chair and was humming to himself. At the sound of her footsteps, he looked up and blushed when he saw her there. "What were you humming?" the nine year old girl asked, sitting back down beside him on another chair.   
  
Cedrik shrugged. "Wouldn't you like to know..." he replied, grinning at her.   
  
Akina frowned. "Fine!" She turned away and folded her arms across her chest.   
  
He wished he hadn't said that. The brown haired boy sighed, suddenly laughing. "Geez! You get mad so easily, doncha?" He playfully punched her in the arm, which made Akina turn to glare at him. Seconds later, her eyes softened, knowing he was just trying to cheer her up and punched him back harder than he anticipated. "Ouch! Why do you have to punch that hard? I didn't punch you THAT hard!"  
  
Akina grinned, sticking out her tongue at him. "Well I guess I just don't know my own strength!"  
  
While this conversation was taking place, Tomoyo and Eriol listened on in their childish conversations. At Akina's last sentence, Eriol was surprised she said it at all. Akina knew she HAD the strenght because... a few hours from now, Akina Hiragizawa was going to be more powerful than ever- just like Sakura when she turned ten all those years ago. "Does she know?" a voice suddenly spoke in the silent air.   
  
Eriol turned to look at his wife and nodded. "Yes, she knows. I told her that last year..." He turned back to look at their daughter. "But I didn't tell her how dangerous it was going to be once she had it."  
  
Tomoyo sighed deeply and walked over to her husband. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his back. "We'll just have to let her know, we'll be with her in every step of the way." She could feel her husband nod in response.   
  
They stood silently for a while, watching and listening as the two ten years olds (well one, nine and a half anyway) conversed in another conversation, more deep than before, until they heard the telephone ring from the living room. Eriol and Tomoyo jumped, even the two kids in the dining room. "I'll get it," Tomoyo replied. She removed her arms from her husband's waist and left to answer the phone in the living room. After the last ring, Tomoyo was finally able to answer it. She lifted up the phone in her ears and said, "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, is this the Hiragizawa residence?" the voice on the other line (which sounded oddly like a young man's) replied.  
  
Tomoyo furrowed her eyebrows curiously. "Yes it is and whom may I ask is asking?"   
  
"I just want to let you know, Tomoyo is that you better watch out... especially if you want to let your family live this year..." the voice faded, then a sound of a 'click!' was heard after that.   
  
"Tomoyo? Who was that?" Eriol approached his wife slowly and placed his hands on her shoulders. He was about to rest his chin on her right shoulder, when she felt her shoulders tense. Eriol quickly withdrew his hands. "Tomoyo?" He slowly turned her around and his eyes widened in fear, when she noticed that her eyes were a different shade of purple. Her pupils were dilated and it seems that Tomoyo was about to pass out. "Tomoyo? Are you all right?"  
  
Tomoyo looked up into Eriol's eyes and before she opened her mouth to say something, her body gave way and her eyes closed. Her head lolled to the side and she felt herself falling down on the ground. Eriol caught her just in time before she fell and the last thing Tomoyo remembered, was her husband calling out her name.  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Aya! Sorry for making you guys wait this long! I wanted a summer break, all right? So don't go blaming me if I wanted to! Anyways, I promise I will continue this time since it's back to school! Heh heh! ;) Hope you guys liked the first chappy! ^^ 


	2. The dream

Note: Eek! @_@ I made you guys wait for SOO long and I'm sorry! ^^; I've been lazy to be honest, but I promise I won't be! Pinky swear!!!!!!!!! o Anyways, we last left off from chapter one....introducing some new characters, one of them who happens to be the cute daughter of Eriol and Tomoyo! We last left off with Tomoyo getting a phone call from soneone who threatened her...eep! And she collapses in shock...could Jiro be really STILL alive? o.O   
  
  
  
Chapter 2 - The dream   
  
  
  
When she was young, she learned not to talk to strangers while walking home from school and was taught not to answer the phone when she was home alone. When she was young, she was taught to walk with a friend, not alone or to take safe routes home. But all the time, she broke those rules, yet she survived. However... now she wished she had taken time to listen to what her mother said about 'not answering the phone' unless told to do so by a parent nearby.  
  
She opened her eyes.  
  
"Tomoyo? Are you all right?" She heard her name being called. She was back to where she was, but only she found herself lying on the sofa in the living room with many pairs of eyes focused on her. She landed her soft, azure eyes on her husband, through the round glasses he wore since he was a child.   
  
"I'm fine," she replied softly. Using her arms as a lever, with the help of her husband, Tomoyo sat up slowly from the sofa and turned to face them, so that she was not really sitting on the couch. The first thing she noticed and felt was her daughter clinging her arms around her and crying.  
  
"Okasan! I thought something happened to you! I thought you had a heart attack! I thought-" Akina's whimpering stopped, when her mother placed a single kiss on top of her head and hushed her gently with a loving embrace.   
  
"Daijoubu, Akina...." Tomoyo whispered.  
  
Akina looked into her mother's eyes and frowned, not sure if she should believe her at that moment, but the look in her mother's eyes changed her mind. "What happened, okasan? Why did you collapse?"  
  
Tomoyo looked up at her husband and smiled, nodding her head as if telling him something.   
  
Eriol, from his spot on the couch, stood up and placed two large hands on Akina's shoulders and smiled, wiping away the tears that formed in her eyes. "Akina, your mother will be just fine. It's nine o'clock now and you have school tomorrow, so I want you to go to bed. Nakuru will take Cedrik home, ne?" He glanced at Nakuru and Cedrik, who was glancing from Tomoyo to Eriol and back again. Nakuru nodded obediently and placed a hand on the little boy's shoulder.   
  
"Come now, Cedrik," she said.  
  
Cedrik looked up at the tall, lavender haired woman and nodded. He gave Akina a small wave of good bye and said, "See ya tomorrow, Akina!" before joining Nakuru out the door. Akina hesitated for a moment, glancing at her parents before Eriol summoned Spinel Sun to take Akina to bed. The dark haired girl frowned, wanting to stay with her mother, but went upstairs anyway, curiosity still etched in her mind.  
  
When they were finally alone, Eriol looked at Tomoyo and wrapped his arms around her tiny body. "What happened? Who was that?"  
  
Tomoyo took a long deep breath and buried her face into her husband's chest. "It was him, Eriol. Jiro..."  
  
The dark haired man's eyes turned into thin slits. "That's impossible, he's dead."  
  
"He's not dead... I can recognize his voice... I know his voice!" Tears streamed down her face. She began to weep. "He threatened me! He's going to hurt Akina! He's going to hurt Akina to get to us! I won't let him! I won't..." she swallowed hard and could no longer continue speaking. She buried her face deeper into her husband's chest and wept.  
  
"Shhhh, it's all right now. Akina's safe, no one will harm her. If anyone dares to hurt my family, he has to answer to me first," Eriol said, rubbing her back lovingly.  
  
Before Tomoyo could utter a reply, the sound of the phone echoed in the living room. Both husband and wife jerked their heads at the phone on the table beside the couch and listened to it ring a third time, before Eriol reached for it with his long arms. He pressed the phone into his ear and said, "Moshi, moshi..." He waited for a few seconds, until a familiar voice caught his ear.  
  
"Oh, I see that your wife has told you my message," the voice replied.  
  
Eriol's eyebrows furrowed. He could feel Tomoyo moving closer beside him and could feel her face pressed up against his to listen in on the conversation. "Who are you? Were you the one who threatened my family about something?" He felt his anger rising. How dare this man threaten his family, scaring his wife like that?   
  
"How could you not recognize the sound of my voice, Eriol? Surely, you should be used to it by now." Tomoyo gasped noiselessly beside Eriol as she heard these words from the other line.  
  
Eriol could feel sweat pouring at the sides of his face. He gripped his hand tightly around the cord and gritted his teeth. This was impossible! He is dead! He can't be alive....could he? "How do you know my name? If it's me you want, then let me know, but leave my family out of this!"  
  
There was an evil laugh that followed after Eriol replied, before the man said, "Who said I wanted you?"  
  
He heard the 'click?' and a long beep on the other line. Eriol blankly glanced at the phone, then slowly put the phone back on its reciever. He turned his head towards Tomoyo, whose eyes looked as if they were going to come out of her socket. More tears streamed down her ageing face. Eriol wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for an embrace. "No, no, don't cry..." he whispered. "I fought him before and beaten him twice...I can do it again. I said I would protect our family and that is what I'm going to do even if it's for the rest of my life."  
  
Tomoyo closed her eyes, resting her face on his shoulder. "You're not going to fight this alone. I want to fight alongside you... You're not the only one who wants to protect our family. That's what marriage vows are for." She looked up and stared into his eyes, telling him that she was serious about this.   
  
Eriol understood and nodded.   
  
"She's in bed now..." A voice said in the darkness. He had heard everything from where he floated at the top of the stairs. Spinel Sun flew back downstairs and joined the couple who had broken away from their embrace to look at him. "Eriol-sama....Tomoyo-san, I vow to protect your family as well. Though I was created to protect Eriol-sama, my mind has made up to protect his family." He glanced at Eriol. "If you have no objections, master..."  
  
His master shook his head. "No, I do not. I'm sure Nakuru would have said the same thing as well."  
  
"I believe so," the small, black cat spoke, flying on top of Eriol's right shoulder.   
  
  
  
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"Jesse! Dinner!" At the sound of his mother's voice, Jesse put the phone back down and stood up.  
  
"What did I just do?" he said to himself silently.  
  
You just did a good thing.  
  
Ignoring the voice for one, he made his way to the door and out the kitchen where his mother had finished putting all the plates on the table, full of the food she had cooked. Quietly, he sat down opposite of where his mother sat and began eating without even taking a glance at his mother. "So, how does it taste?" His mother suddenly asked.   
  
The dark haired boy shrugged. "It's fine," he replied, taking another bite of his food.   
  
Victoria sighed, taking a swift glance at her son and examining him for a few seconds. He had grown quite handsome, she noted. Although she has raised him for fifteen years now, there was still something she didn't understand about him. For a boy whom she found in the rubble of a house that was set on fire, he seemed healthy, but she's afraid that part of the smoke from the fire could have 'singed' some of his brain cells, making him act quiet, aloof and unsociable. During his early years of childhood, she had taken him to the doctor about a dozen times, making sure that nothing was wrong with him. When the doctor assured her that he was 'normal,' she took him home and cared for him until he was able to walk, eat, sleep and bathe for himself. However, Victoria was still unsatisfied with the results the doctor had given her. She was still doubtful about her son's 'growth.'   
  
"Is something wrong?" Victoria looked up from her food and glanced at her son. He was looking at her worriedly. Well, there was one thing she didn't find odd. He was a kind boy and she was glad of that. Despite all the 'oddities' that has occured in him and the fact that they had a fight earlier, he had grown into a kind boy, never getting into trouble. She was surprised when he hit high school, he immediately had the highest math test score in the school. The teachers were so impressed by him that they bumped him up into twelvth grade without even trying hard. He was smart for his age.   
  
"Oh, nothing!" she replied, smiling. "I just want to apologize for yelling at you earlier. I was just worried about you."  
  
Jesse nodded, then looked down at his food. Guilt suddenly began growing in his heart. "No, I should be the one who's saying, sorry. I shouldn't have given you that attitude."  
  
Victoria smiled, reaching out to touch her son's cheek. "It's okay, sweetie. Just don't stay out too late, okay?"  
  
The dark haired boy nodded. "Okay."  
  
Without another word, both of them turned their attention back to their food and quietly continued to eat.  
  
  
  
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That night was silent. Every minds of those inside the mansion were full of questions and never any answers. There was curiosity, especially in the mind of a ten year old girl who found herself in a dark place in her dream. Around her, there was furniture and two windows in front of her and behind her, all shadowed in the darkness. There was a small glint of light peeking through one of the windows. She reached out to touch a couch that seemed familiar to her. She was able to feel it. Was this really a dream? she thought.   
  
"Where am I?" she said outloud, hoping someone would at least answer her.  
  
"What do you want!?" a woman's voice screeched.  
  
She jerked her head towards the voice and noticed her mother standing there, staring towards an opened door. The door was covering the figure she was talking to. "Okasan?" Behind her, appeared the tall, familiar figure of her father, who ran in front of her mother to protect her from harm. "Otousan!" She ran to them, but her legs suddenly were unable to move. Why couldn't she move?  
  
"I won't let you go inside my house without getting through ME first!" her father yelled. He fished out something from out of nowhere to what seemed like a long stick. At the end of this stick was some kind of moon and sun shaped made of wood.   
  
"You want to fight me?" another voice spoke, a lot more deep and harsh than the threatening voices of her parents.  
  
"Okasan! Otousan!" she yelled out loud, but this time, her voice was drowned out by her mother's scream. Her eyes turned to where her mother was standing, now staring at an unconscious body of her father on the ground."Otou...." Tears streaked down her tiny cheeks. Before she could finish her sentence, another scream escaped her mother's lips, but this time, it came out rather choked. Her eyes widened in shock. The figure, with his face still concealed in the darkness, had moved behind the figure of her mother and stabbed her through the back with a long dagger. "O....OKASAN! OTOUSAN!!!" she yelled. She felt her knees getting weak and felt her knees touch something as she hit the ground.   
  
The figure suddenly turned towards her direction as if seeing her there for the first time since the event that happened. The ten year old girl suddenly looked alert and she stood up quickly on her feet. "I'm sorry...." the figure spoke.  
  
"What?" She was confused. He was SORRY? For murdering her parents? "Iiee! You're NOT sorry! YOU KILLED THEM!!!!"  
  
"You have to understand..." With that said, the figure stepped through the door and disappeared in the darkness, never to be seen again.  
  
Finally, the girl was finally able to run to her parents' sides. "Okasan! Otousan! Please wake up!" She kneeled in between her mother and father and looked at them with blood-shot eyes. "OTOUSAN! OKASAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
  
************************************  
  
  
  
"Akina?" Eriol slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the sound of his wife's voice beside him. She was sitting up now, looking towards the door worriedly. He sat up as well, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her.   
  
"Nani, Tomoyo?" he whispered in her ear.  
  
Tomoyo glanced at her husband and frowned. "Akina...I hear her crying."  
  
Eriol listened. Just as Tomoyo said, he could hear the soft whimpering of their ten year old daughter in the next room. No matter how soft it was, Eriol's keen sense of hearing was enough to hear a simple whisper a hundred miles away. Of course, he had to use magic at the time for good reasons. Immediately, he removed the blanket from on top of him, put on his slippers and walked out the door, followed closely by his wife. He opened the door to their daughter's room and opened it. In the darkness, to where a bed was, a figure layed stirring, covered in a large and purple comforter.   
  
"Okasan...Otousan..." Akina whimpered. Beads of sweat and tears all mixed together in a heap on her bed. She kicked and jerked her head from side to side, now crying loudly than before. Eriol and Tomoyo quickly ran to both sides of her bed. The husband being the first one to arrive her daughter, he lifted her up in his arms and embraced her, rubbing her back to calm her down.   
  
"Shhhh, it's okay now, Akina," Eriol whispered in her ear. "Mother and father are here now."  
  
Akina opened her eyes and buried her face deep into her father's chest. She felt another pair of arms wrap itself around her small body. She could smell her mother's perfume she wore every night and found herself smothered in the embraces of both her parents. They were here! They were really here! It really WAS a dream! "Okasan...Otousan..." She whispered, more tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
"Akina, sweetheart, your mother and father will never leave you, understand that," Tomoyo whispered.  
  
She looked up into the eyes of her parents and frowned. "It felt so real..."  
  
"Dreams are only dreams, Akina," Eriol replied, letting go of his daughter and smiling reassuringly at her. "No one can harm anyone in this house as long as I'm here." He gave his daughter another loving hug, before giving Tomoyo more room on the bed with their daughter.  
  
Tomoyo smiled, running her hand through her daughter's soft, straight, dark hair, then leaned down to kiss her at the top of her head. "My dear heart, your father and I will ALWAYS be here. We would never dare leave the most precious treasure we hold dear in our hearts. Now, go back to sleep." With that said, she gave her daughter another loving hug, then joined her husband standing beside her on the bed.   
  
Akina nodded obediently and laid back down. She watched as her parents leave the room quietly, closing the door slowly behind them. She smiled, thinking how silly she was to believe a dream that she knew would never happen. The dark haired girl closed her eyes and went back to sleep, dreaming now of the wonderful garden in the backyard of her house, watching her mother tending to the flowers in the very back of the yard.   
  
Meanwhile, Tomoyo closed the door behind her. She sighed, closing her eyes. "Hey..." She looked up at the sound of her husband's voice and saw him approaching her. He leaned closer to her and wrapped his long arms around his wife. "Don't tell me you were lying to our daughter about what you said."  
  
Tomoyo sighed, burying her face into her husband's chest. "I can't help it, Eriol... I had the same dream..."  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Hah! I told you I was going to make the chapters longer! Now, now, what the heck does this mean? o.O Tomoyo and Akina had the same dream? Is the dream really a dream or a prophecy? Eep! x_x Heh heh, stay tuned! ;) 


	3. Belonging

Note: OMG! How long has it been:S I am SOOOOOOO sorry! I have been so bad at updating my stories, but fear not I have figured out a system that will definitely help me update ALL my stories! Well, I won't tell you but anyway, here is the long awaited chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Belonging**

He watched her from a distance. Rain was falling and the only thing keeping him from getting soaked was the lonesome tree he stood by.

"All right everyone! Practice is over for the day!" the coach yelled.

All the children grabbed their belongings and began marching back to the building of the school.

Jesse noticed Akina glancing at him. She smiled and waved, but all he could do was stare back at her, unable to understand her reason of reacting to his presence. She glanced at the rest of her teammates and to his surprise, ran up to him.

"Hi!"

The dark haired young man looked at her.

Akina giggled, clasping her hands behind her back. She tilted her head to her side. "Aren't you even going to say hello?"

"Hello…" Jesse mumbled.

"Well that's an improvement." The dark haired girl passed him the ball.

Jesse glanced down at the ball in his arms and then back at her. "Why are you giving me the ball?"

"Isn't football the reason why you come here all the time?" She grabbed the ball from him and began kicking it around. "Football is an awesome game. I like the feel of the ball being kicked by your feet," she said, bouncing the ball back and forth with her knees. Akina stopped the ball with her feet, stomping it on the ground and looked back at him. "I see you everyday two weeks already. If you want to play so bad, why don't you just say so?"

Jesse shook his head. "I don't know how to play."

Akina's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious? Everyone knows how to play football!"

The older boy looked away, blushing. "I'm not everyone," Jesse murmured.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you…" Akina blushed as well and looked away.

"Akina!"

The dark haired girl looked behind her and saw Cedrik waving at her from across the field. "Coming!" she replied.

"You should go back…you're getting soaked," Jesse said quietly, reaching over without a second thought to curl a wet strand of dark hair behind her ear.

Akina blushed an even darker shade of red. "Um…thank you for letting me know. I should get going then." She picked up the ball and almost tripped against an odd shaped ground as she headed to join Cedrik.

"Why are you talking to him now?" he asked, looking as if he was ready to choke the older boy as he glanced at him.

His best friend just frowned. "Cedrik, he's quite harmless. Must you nitpick on the people I converse with?" Annoyed, she walked passed him without saying another word.

"No…I just…" Cedrik paused and sighed, as he ran after her.

**_What was that?_**

"What was what?" Jesse said to himself as he watched Akina climb up the hill back to the school. He smirked. "Isn't this what you want?"

**_What, for you to flirt with our enemy's daughter?_**

He sighed irritably and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "If you were smart, you'd know to keep your enemies closer…"

There was silence.

Jesse's smirk widened. "Good, now you're getting it."

**_Don't be smug with me boy!_**

"No, I was only being smart." The dark haired boy put on his hood, stuffed his hands in his pockets and left the field back towards home.

* * *

The sky was still cloudy and the rain continued to fall. Large chunks of rain pitter-pattered against the rooftop and Tomoyo found herself staring outside. She wondered worriedly why Akina hadn't called for a ride home as she glanced at the clock.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Tomoyo stood up to answer it, hoping it would be Akina calling home to let her know that she had a ride home with Cedrik's parents.

"Moshi, moshi."

"Hello, Tomoyo," the voice on the other line replied.

Tomoyo took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

"Oh come now, sweet. Aren't you even going to say hello?"

Tomoyo said nothing.

"I'm home!" The front door suddenly opened and in came Eriol. "Boy, it's soaking out there! Did Akina get home okay? I had to take a different route home so I was hoping she got a ride home with someone." Eriol took off his coat and hung it on the coat hanger beside the entrance. "Tomoyo?" He walked to the living room, the painting of a garden on the canvas left untouched. Tomoyo sat on the couch by the phone staring ahead of her. She looked up at the sound of her husband's footsteps. "Tomoyo? What is it?" Eriol looked at his wife, then turned towards the phone. "Did he call again?" He marched up to the phone and dialed something quickly that Tomoyo hadn't had a chance to see what it was. "Hello operator? Could you please tell me the last person who called this number?"

There was silence on the other line as Eriol waited. Finally, the sound of the female operator came back on. "I can put you through."

"Thank you," Eriol replied.

There was a short click, followed by the sound of a busy beep.

* * *

"Yes, I know mom! Jesse is doing just fine!" Victoria sighed and listened to her mother ramble on about taking responsibilities.

"Really Victoria, you should learn how to take care of a fifteen year old! He is at that stage where rebellion against a parent is the only thing he will learn!"

"Mother, I am a grown woman! Let me handle Jesse myself okay?" Victoria said, making sure her mother heard correctly.

"You are a single parent! When are you going to find yourself a man? I want another grandchild seeing as how you are my only daughter!"

The blond haired woman rolled her eyes, slightly moving the phone away from her ear. Once again, Ivy Converse was in her dramatic phase, making her daughter feel bad about not being married for a woman who had reached her mid-thirties. It was always the same for Victoria every time her mother's birthday arrived. "Yes mother, I understand!" All she could do was agree to every word she said. She glanced at her watch and realized that she had been talking to her mother for half an hour now. Actually, it was more like Ivy doing all the talking while Victoria listened.

Jesse was smart enough to not make any phone calls to his grandmother this time, instead he decided to retreat into his room and never come out.

"Yes! Yes, I know mother!"

* * *

...Meanwhile...

The dark haired young man sighed as he laid in bed, trying to drown out his mother's voice. "I need to get out of here."

**_Where are you going?_**

"Somewhere," he replied.

**_You know, Jesse I've been thinking…Indeed it is a good idea to befriend out sweet Akina._**

"I know." He got up from bed and walked over to the window, glancing outside to see the rain still pouring heavily. "I think I'll go for a walk."

**_In the rain?_**

Jesse lifted the window open silently and stopped halfway, making sure his mother was still chatting away.

"Hi Eve! Yes, I was wondering about that patio set you were telling about selling…"

The dark haired young man sighed, relieved that his mother was still busy with the phone to bother with him. He slowly opened the window all the way and proceeded to exit for outside.

It was quiet in the dark, except some occasional noises coming from dog and cat fights as Jesse walked down his street. The pavement was shimmering from the drops of rain and dents in the street created puddles. The only protection he had from being soaked from head to toe, was the hood he had from his black jacket.

"Come on, Cedrik! My parents are going to kill me for being late! Geez, why did you have to stop by for some food?"

At the sound of Akina's familiar voice, Jesse stopped dead in his tracks and looked up. The young girl seemed to have noticed too, because she also stopped walking. "Hey! It's you again!"

"What are you babbling about now?" Cedrik looked up and saw Jesse standing there, awkwardly staring at Akina. "Oh…"

"Do you live around here?" Akina asked.

Jesse nodded. "Just down the street. Do you know…" He took a quick glance at the young boy staring at him with a jealous look. "Also live around here?" Hm…this boy looks trouble. He glanced back at Akina.

The young girl smiled. "Yeah! But Cedrik lives down the street more."

"Cedrik?" Jesse turned his head towards the red-faced boy.

"Oh, I'm sorry! This is my friend, Cedrik Crawford! Cedrik, this is…you know I didn't really get your name…"

The older boy glanced at her, holding out a hand towards her young friend. "Jesse…Jesse Converse."

Cedrik frowned.

Akina nudged him with her elbow. "Don't be rude, Cedrik! Introduce yourself."

Cedrik shook his hand. "Cedrik Crawford," he mumbled.

"And I'm Akina Hiiragizawa!" She took Jesse's hand and shook it.

"Are you walking home?" Jesse asked.

"Yes we are!" Cedrik said rather harshly.

The older boy looked at him, surprised by his tone. Akina glared at Cedrik for being rude. "Well, if you're not doing anything, you can always walk with us for a bit!"

Jesse nodded. "Sure."

"Great!" Akina smiled and sighed. "This rain will never stop so we should hurry on home."

Cedrik's frown grew even more as the three of them began to walk, with him a little bit ahead.

This boy is certainly a nuisance. We should get rid of him…

"I will do no such thing…"

"What's that?" Akina looked up towards Jesse, who seemed quite concentrated at something.

The dark haired boy shook his head and smiled. "Oh, um I said isn't this something?"

The young girl stared at him curiously.

"The rain. It doesn't seem to stop at all…"

Akina nodded. "Yeah…I wonder why. I remember when I was little, I said the same thing to my mom." She glanced a ways ahead of her. "You know what her reply was?"

"What" Jesse watched her.

"She said that someone up there must be very sad and that someone needs someone to comfort him. If that someone was a teddy bear, I would hug it and never let go."

The tall boy was quite surprised at this little revelation from the young girl.

Ahead of them, the younger boy stopped. He turned and looked at them at a sideway glance. "Well, this is where I separate…Bye Akina!" Cedrik said quickly, before walking off.

Akina frowned. "I wonder what's gotten into him?" She waved. "Bye Cedrik!" She shrugged and turned to Jesse. "Well, this is where I stop." She pointed with her thumb towards a large mansion behind her.

Jesse stared at it. Indeed it was a mansion fit for a celebrity. "What do your parents do for a living?" he asked, surprised at the size of the driveway.

Akina laughed. "Oh! They don't do jobs like corporate or anything, nor are they movie stars! This mansion used to belong to my grandfather in which he passed down to my father. He had a good business, but I guess we just got lucky with this mansion. My dad decided not to go on with the business, instead he is a realtor while my mother is a painter."

The dark haired boy nodded. "Still very good jobs."

Hm, is this what Eriol told her…

The dark haired girl smiled proudly. "There is never a day that I'm not proud of the way we live!"

"Akina!"

Both Jesse and Akina looked up. The gate suddenly opened and a woman with long lavender hair stepped out frantically, covering the young girl with an umbrella.

"Nakuru-neesan!"

The woman whom Akina called 'Nakuru' sighed and put an arm around the young girl's shoulders. "Really, must you worry your parents so much? Go on inside."

Akina nodded and quickly glanced at Jesse. "Bye Jesse! It was nice meeting you!" She waved and went inside.

Nakuru glanced at Jesse without a word. She stared at him for a couple of seconds, nodded and closed the gate behind her. Suddenly, her heart started to beat irregularly. Startled, she stopped in her tracks and turned to peek her head above the gate back at the young man, but he was gone. Confused, Nakuru started to walk back inside. 'What on earth was that?' she thought.

* * *

Cedrik began his journey back home. After seeing that lame moment between Akina and Jesse, he felt a pang of jealousy coursing through his veins. The girl whom he learned to love once never laughed for him like that, nor smiled as sweetly as she did for the older boy.

_Tap! Tap!_

Cedrik paused. He swore he heard someone following him. When he heard nothing, he continued his trek down the street. Only two more blocks and he was home free.

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_ He heard it again. And this time it was louder…closer in fact. Cedrik's heart began to beat fast. He walked faster and the footsteps were also in a haste along with his.

'What am I doing?' he thought. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly stopped, clenching his fists at sides and made a sharp turn around.

Cedrik didn't see the punch that flew right at his face, that quickly knocked him unconscious.

* * *

GoodGurl: OOOOOOOOH! Heh heh, doesn't it get better now? ;) Well, see you next chapter:P 


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